Original Reads

Rhode Island certainly has its history of scandals, cover-ups, and cronyism, but who deserves the "honor" of being the Ocean State's current biggest villain?

The Nominees

Gordon Fox: The former Speaker of the House, and current RI State Rep for District 4 was the focus of a raid of the Statehouse in March, and this week was tied to some shady dealings involving Michael Corso, his former bar (Tazza), and 38 Studios.

Matt Jennings: The owner and chef of a popular Wayland Square Eatery announced this week that he would sell Farmstead, taking his James Beard Award 40 miles north to greener, more profitable pastures in Boston.

Brandon Austin: The former Providence Friar and now former Oregon Duck was involved in a sexual assault investigation for a second time in less than a year. In November, Austin was accused of sexual of a fellow PC student and suspended from the team while the matter was investigated. He quickly transferred to Oregon.

Debora Gist: The Education Commissioner for Rhode Island has been a lightning rod since her appointment in 2009. This week, she made the news after her policy agenda took a blow following th﻿e Senate Education Committee voted to block the use of high-stakes testing as a graduation requirement until at least 2017.﻿